22.03.2013The ex-President of Moldova, Chairman of the Communist Party MP Vladimir Voronin says he doesn’t really see a particular need for holding consultations with the Liberal Democratic Party to launch the procedure of discharging Parliament Speaker Marian Lupu.

23.04.2007 START GIVEN. WHO WILL BE FIRST AT FINISH POST? Part 1. (Infotag’s political commentary)

Part 1 of 2. Local Elections as a Stage of Preparation for Struggle for Parliament.

Last week, the Chisinau Constituency Electoral Board registered the first candidates for Chisinau Mayor – 10 aspirants at a time. Since that moment, they have been in a position to start their run-up campaign to the June 3 all-republican local elections.

These elections are to show to which extent the alignment of political forces has changed in Moldova since the March 2005 parliamentary elections. Political parties in this republic began preparing for the elections quite long ago, regarding the event as the chief stage of preparation for the soon-to-be battle for seats in the Moldovan Parliament – in 2009.

The principal importance of the local elections can be demonstrated, inter alia, with a little scandal that happened in the very beginning of the campaign, when the Chisinau Constituency Electoral Board confused both itself and applicants for the essential post. The Board announced it would start accepting documents from applicants on April 17, but accepted first applications as early as on April 13. Naturally, some parties accused the Board of incorrectness, because those who submitted applications on April 13 have received a certain advantage. The situation was examined by the Central Election Commission, but it found no violations in such a behaviour. But, still, several potential runners applied for justice to court.

The campaign start in the republic’s second largest city, Balti, was no better, either. The first applicants came to the city’s electoral board very-very early in the morning, long before the office’s opening time. But when they eventually got in, they were greatly surprised to see that the first position in the ballot list of candidates had already been ‘reserved’ for the incumbent Mayor of Balti Mr. Vasile Panciuc, the candidate of the ruling Communist Party. The opposition parties have challenged the Balti Constituency Electoral Board’s actions in the Central Election Commission, and depending on what the Commission decides, one may presume that some dissatisfied parties will apply for justice in court. Apparently, the just started campaign will see quite a few protests and complaints of that kind yet.

Unlike the previous local election, presently many Moldovan political parties presume they are on the rise, and are resolute to give a real battle to some political old-timers who wish to monopolize the Moldovan political arena of the 21st century. The young parties are going to use the 2007 local election not solely to manifest their existence as such, but also to begin winning power in the localities, for this will be crucial for tuning the electorate’s moods and for election returns in 2009.

Precisely because this campaign will serve the basis for success in the next parliamentary elections, all forces perceive the local elections seriously as never before. Many parties are nominating their candidates for mayors in an absolute majority of the country’s 898 populated areas. And organizations that are not strong enough for this are concentrating efforts in the most important sectors where they count for success.

Main struggle will unfold for city and town mayors, because 51 such populated areas are home to over a half of the country’s populace of 3.5 million. Chisinau, for instance, has a population of nearly 700 thousand. And bearing in mind that approximately a half of the Moldovan rural population are earning their families’ living in Russia, Italy, Portugal, Spain and dozens of other countries, the main and acutest electoral struggle will be not in half-deserted Moldovan villages but in cities and towns.

The elections of Chisinau Mayor will serve kind of the litmus paper to show the change in voters’ moods. Unlike the early Chisinau mayoral elections in 2005, when 4 attempts were unhappy due to a low voter turnout, this time the election will be valid for sure. The Parliament took care of this, having lowered the turnout threshold to 25% from the previous 33%, and having cancelled any turnout requirements for the second round of elections. So, passive voters will now be left outside the game, and the city father [or, theoretically, mother] will be elected without them.

One of the chief intrigues of the approaching event was who the ruling Communist Party’s candidate would be. The latest events, including the December 2006 election of Bashkan [governor] in the southern Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia, demonstrated that the ruling party can no longer count for success only thank to its “Communist” brand and the “sickle and hammer” emblem so dear to many since the Soviet times. On the other hand, a recent opinion poll showed that despite the general discontent over the present-day living standards and the country’s development vector, the voters’ moods have not changed so greatly. The Moldovan Communist Party (MCP) is leading impressively in the popularity rating, and will, most probably, win in a majority of localities.

However, the findings of that all-republican opinion poll should not necessarily be valid for Chisinau, which has its own political specifics, the more so that problems in the capital city are many, and things here are not so cloudless as the Teleradio-Moldova company portrays them.

Before, one could say with considerable confidence that the nomination of the previous Chisinau Acting Mayor, Vasile Ursu, as candidate of the ruling party guaranteed success to the Communists. In the case with Veaceslav Iordan now, things are not that happy. Iordan emerged on the scene very recently, and he had no time enough to show himself in Chisinau in whatever way. Besides, Iordan has no charisma of a politician – a feature that is absolutely necessary in elections. And, indeed, much will depend on rivals. If there are many weak rivals, Veaceslav Iordan may stand out. But against the background of strong competitors, he may well fail, as it happened in 2003 with the Communist candidate, Vasile Zgardan.

So far, only one thing is perfectly clear – that there will be many candidates for Chisinau Mayor. Already at its first working meeting, the Chisinau Constituency Electoral Board registered 10. Their composition is quite even, and in such a case it is exactly Iordan who has chances for victory.

But one should have no doubt that by May 11 – the deadline for registration of candidates – more names will be on the list of mayorship seekers. On the very first days of the run-up campaign, it is difficult to make precise forecasts, for much will depend on how each candidate is going to conduct his or her campaign. And the intentions of all candidates are most serious.